Updated on
Summary Misbah hopes his team will come down hard on Sri Lanka in the third test match.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq, riding on a years success, vowed to remain positive in his bids to win the series against Sri Lanka as the teams prepare for the third Test starting here on Thursday.We will go for another win at Sharjah and I have told the players to go positively, in the same manner as they have been doing, said Misbah, who has not lost a series since taking over in October last year.The 37-year-old captain led Pakistan to a drawn 0-0 series against South Africa, before beating New Zealand 1-0, squaring the two-Test series against the West Indies 1-1 before beating Zimbabwe in a one-off Test. Misbah said the key to Pakistans success has been their collective strength.If Pakistan win the series 2-0, they will move up one spot to replace Sri Lanka at fifth in the Test rankings. The best thing about this team is that no one player is key for us. Everybody here is key, its a relatively new team but players are gaining experience and its helping the team, said Misbah.While praising Pakistans batting and bowling, Misbah is hoping their fielding will continue to improve. We are batting and bowling well in this series, said Misbah, praising fast-rising middle-order batsmen Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. Ali is doing well every time. He is getting mature with every innings, said Misbah of Ali who scored a maiden hundred in Dubai. Shafiq is also a very good find for us.Misbahs counterpart, Tillakaratne Dilshan, has contrasting fortunes. He has yet to win a Test as captain since taking over in May this year. We might come with different tactics because we have to put our heads up and come back strongly, said Dilshan. We have to win the next Test and level the series.Despite the in-form Kumar Sangakkara, who hit an epic double hundred to help Sri Lanka draw the first Test and then topscored with 78 in his teams low score of 239 in Dubai, Sri Lankas batting looks fragile. Batting is a worry, said Dilshan. In our last 13 Tests we have lost four and in all our losses we didnt bat well.
